Town Captain Nathan Thompson will continue to be assessed ahead of the Reds’ crunch fixture against Scunthorpe United this Saturday (3pm Kick-Off).
The defender has missed his side’s last two outings having suffered a reoccurrence of a heel problem.
An injection has failed to settle the injury down and Head Coach Luke Williams has provided an in-depth update on his Skipper.
“We’re concerned because Nathan has had an injection and it didn’t settle down in the manner that we hoped it would,” Williams said at his pre-match press conference earlier today.
“We’ve got another day left of preparation so we’re still optimistic for Nathan and he’s doing absolutely everything that he possibly can to get fit and to help us, which won’t come as any surprise.
“But, ultimately, if Nathan cannot perform to any sort of level near his best then it is irresponsible for myself to make him available.
“Nathan is adamant that if he can play then he’s not concerned about long-term dangers. This is a club that means absolutely everything to Nathan and nobody is more a Swindon player than Nathan, without question.
“It will come down to whether or not we believe he can perform. He’s not holding back or looking any further down the line, he’s desperate to help us get out of this situation.
“We have to make sure that we put a Nathan Thompson out on the pitch that can actually do his job to a standard that is acceptable, rather than just have him out there and hobbling around and not able to really produce his best.
“The bottom line is that Nathan is tested and if that heel is so sore and painful and not able to function as it should be able to, then he’s immediately withdrawn from any further activity.
“He’s tested every day and we know that we can keep a level of fitness without him having to put that heel down on the ground, but at this moment it has not been comfortable enough for him when jumping, landing, sprinting and stopping and putting a huge amount of force through it.
“It has not been comfortable enough for us to be able to believe that he can go and produce anywhere near his best.”
Meanwhile, Williams confirmed that he has no other injury concerns to contend with ahead of the visit of Scunthorpe to SN1 on Saturday.
“Everybody is there or thereabouts,” he continued.
“Of course, some players are playing through pain and injuries that are not serious enough to sideline them but, other than that, we’ve got a clean bill of health.”
